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The product the contractor has specified is good quality professional product that should give you many years of reliable service, if installed correctly. Just as it is important that the components of the system will work reliably, it is equally important that the design of the system will work for your particular landscape. Proper design ensures the following:

The even application of water through out the system. No zone should have mixed heads. spray heads, rotor heads, and drip irrigation all have very different precipitation rates and should never be mixed on the same zone.

The ability to apply the correct amount of water to areas that have different watering needs through the use of zones (control valves) For example your foundation plantings and turf-grass have very different watering requirements and should be put on different zones rather than watering them together. If they are watered together one of two things will happen one area will get too much or too little water eventually resulting in dead plant material. Sun exposure, soil type, grade/slope, & type of plant should all be taken into account when zoning an irrigation system.

These are just a few things that a professional irrigation contractor will take in to consideration. Proper design is the difference between an irrigation system and a sprinkler system. The irrigation system will apply the right amount of water where and when you need it. A sprinkler system throws water around. What questions can you ask that may clue you in as to whether you are going to purchase a well designed system? Ask the contractors the following.

What is my water pressure?

How many gallons per minute will this system be able to distibute.

Are my planting beds zoned separately from the grass?

If the contractor stutters on any of these questions you may need to reconsider doing business with him/her.

No guesstimates for unknown locations. The best choice might actually look like a ripoff on paper, but some installers really support the work they do, and that time allotted to support comes off their bottom line.

buying a new system/what questions should I ask

Live in Northern climate on 1/3 acre. Am being quoted a Hunter Pro Spray system w/ Hunter PGP Rotors and PGV valves, a Pro C timer, a rain sensor and a RPZ backflow. Only thing I understand is the word "quote" everything else is clueless to me.

The best price is not the lowest price. I need a contractor that is reliable and will service my system. But I do not want to get ripped off either. Can someone give me a guesstimate as to how much this system should run. 33 mist heads. Want to make sure I am not being charged a Cadillac for a chevy system.